2008-10-22 02:56:00
By Adam Voiland Adam Voiland Mon Oct 20, 5:31 pm ET
Two nutrition experts argue that you can't take marketing campaigns at face
value
With America's obesity problem among kids reaching crisis proportions, even
junk food makers have started to claim they want to steer children toward more
healthful choices. In a study released earlier this year, the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention reported that about 32 percent of children were
overweight but not obese, 16 percent were obese, and 11 percent were extremely
obese. Food giant PepsiCo, for example, points out on its website that "we can
play an important role in helping kids lead healthier lives by offering healthy
product choices in schools." The company highlights what it considers its
healthier products within various food categories through a "Smart Spot"
marketing campaign that features green symbols on packaging. PepsiCo's
inclusive criteria--explained here--award spots to foods of dubious nutritional
value such as Diet Pepsi, Cap'n Crunch cereal, reduced-fat Doritos, and
Cheetos, as well as to more nutritious products such as Quaker Oatmeal and
Tropicana Orange Juice.
But are wellness initiatives like Smart Spot just marketing ploys? Such moves
by the food industry may seem to be a step in the right direction, but
ultimately makers of popular junk foods have an obligation to stockholders to
encourage kids to eat more--not less--of the foods that fuel their profits,
says David Ludwig, a pediatrician and the co-author of a commentary published
in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association that raises
questions about whether big food companies can be trusted to help combat
obesity. Ludwig and article co-author Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition
at New York University, both of whom have long histories of tracking the food
industry, spoke with U.S. News and highlighted 10 things that junk food makers
don't want you to know about their products and how they promote them.
1. Junk food makers spend billions advertising unhealthy foods to kids.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, food makers spend some $1.6 billion
annually to reach children through the traditional media as well the Internet,
in-store advertising, and sweepstakes. An article published in 2006 in the
Journal of Public Health Policy puts the number as high as $10 billion
annually. Promotions often use cartoon characters or free giveaways to entice
kids into the junk food fold. PepsiCo has pledged that it will advertise only
"Smart Spot" products to children under 12.
2. The studies that food producers support tend to minimize health concerns
associated with their products.
In fact, according to a review led by Ludwig of hundreds of studies that looked
at the health effects of milk, juice, and soda, the likelihood of conclusions
favorable to the industry was several times higher among industry-sponsored
research than studies that received no industry funding. "If a study is funded
by the industry, it may be closer to advertising than science," he says.
3. Junk food makers donate large sums of money to professional nutrition
associations.
The American Dietetic Association, for example, accepts money from companies
such as Coca-Cola, which get access to decision makers in the food and
nutrition marketplace via ADA events and programs, as this release explains. As
Nestle notes in her blog and discusses at length in her book Food Politics, the
group even distributes nutritional fact sheets that are directly sponsored by
specific industry groups. This one, for example, which is sponsored by an
industry group that promotes lamb, rather unsurprisingly touts the nutritional
benefits of lamb. The ADA's reasoning: "These collaborations take place with
the understanding that ADA does not support any program or message that does
not correspond with ADA's science-based healthful-eating messages and
positions," according to the group's president, dietitian Martin Yadrick. "In
fact, we think it's important for us to be at the same table with food
companies because of the positive influence that we can have on them."
4. More processing means more profits, but typically makes the food less
healthy.
Minimally processed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables obviously aren't
where food companies look for profits. The big bucks stem from turning
government-subsidized commodity crops--mainly corn, wheat, and soybeans--into
fast foods, snack foods, and beverages. High-profit products derived from these
commodity crops are generally high in calories and low in nutritional value.
5. Less-processed foods are generally more satiating than their highly
processed counterparts.
Fresh apples have an abundance of fiber and nutrients that are lost when they
are processed into applesauce. And the added sugar or other sweeteners increase
the number of calories without necessarily making the applesauce any more
filling. Apple juice, which is even more processed, has had almost all of the
fiber and nutrients stripped out. This same stripping out of nutrients, says
Ludwig, happens with highly refined white bread compared with stone-ground
whole wheat bread.
6. Many supposedly healthy replacement foods are hardly healthier than the
foods they replace.
In 2006, for example, major beverage makers agreed to remove sugary sodas from
school vending machines. But the industry mounted an intense lobbying effort
that persuaded lawmakers to allow sports drinks and vitamin waters
that--despite their slightly healthier reputations--still can be packed with
sugar and calories.
7. A health claim on the label doesn't necessarily make a food healthy.
Health claims such as "zero trans fats" or "contains whole wheat" may create
the false impression that a product is healthy when it's not. While the claims
may be true, a product is not going to benefit your kid's health if it's also
loaded with salt and sugar or saturated fat, say, and lacks fiber or other
nutrients. "These claims are calorie distracters," adds Nestle. "They make
people forget about the calories." Dave DeCecco, a spokesperson for PepsiCo,
counters that the intent of a labeling program such as Smart Spot is simply to
help consumers pick a healthier choice within a category. "We're not trying to
tell people that a bag of Doritos is healthier than asparagus. But, if you're
buying chips, and you're busy, and you don't have a lot of time to read every
part of the label, it's an easy way to make a smarter choice," he says.
8. Food industry pressure has made nutritional guidelines confusing.
As Nestle explained in Food Politics, the food industry has a history of
preferring scientific jargon to straight talk. As far back as 1977, public
health officials attempted to include the advice "reduce consumption of meat"
in an important report called Dietary Goals for the United States. The report's
authors capitulated to intense pushback from the cattle industry and used this
less-direct and more ambiguous advice: "Choose meats, poultry, and fish which
will reduce saturated fat intake." Overall, says Nestle, the government has a
hard time suggesting that people eat less of anything.
9. The food industry funds front groups that fight antiobesity public health
initiatives.
Unless you follow politics closely, you wouldn't necessarily realize that a
group with a name like the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) has anything to do
with the food industry. In fact,Ludwig and Nestle point out, this group lobbies
aggressively against obesity-related public health campaigns--such as the one
directed at removing junk food from schools--and is funded, according to the
Center for Media and Democracy, primarily through donations from big food
companies such as Coca-Cola, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and Wendy's.
10. The food industry works aggressively to discredit its critics.
According to the new JAMA article, the Center for Consumer Freedom boasts that
"[our strategy] is to shoot the messenger. We've got to attack [activists']
credibility as spokespersons." Here's the group's entry on Marion Nestle.
The bottom line, says Nestle, is quite simple: Kids need to eat less, include
more fruits and vegetables, and limit the junk food.